Home made diffuser for on board flash, samples inside

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Jake400D

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Jake
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Just thought i would post up an experiment ive done today. Ive made a home made diffuser for a camera with an on board flash. Ive just gone and taken some test shots with it and im pretty pleased with the improvment! Obviously it works on some pictures better than others, how close you are will make a difference ect. Here are the test shots and a shot of it on the camera :)

It clearly makes the flash alot les harsh and flat which as we know is the downside to a poo on board flash

Without Diffuser
Withoutdiffuser2.jpg



With Diffuser
Withdiffuser2.jpg


Without Diffuser
Withoutdiffuser1.jpg



With Diffuser
Withdiffuser1.jpg


Without Diffuser
Withoutdiffuser3.jpg



With Diffuser
Withdiffuser3.jpg
 
Without Diffuser
Withoutdiffuser4.jpg



With Diffuser
Withdiffuser4.jpg


Without Diffuser
Withoutdiffuser7.jpg



With Diffuser
Withdiffuser7.jpg


This one is basically pitch black

Without Diffuser
Withoutdiffuser6.jpg



With Diffuser
Withdiffuser6.jpg
 
And some pics of what it looks like, on and off the camera

diff5.jpg


diff3.jpg


diff1.jpg


difff2.jpg


C&C welcome as always

let me know what you think

It clearly makes the flash alot les harsh and flat which as we know is the downside to a poo on board flash

I think it will work ok in the studio, or atleast alot better than just the flash as i think its proven above :)

Enjoy
 
Coulnt say matey, never used one of the above before

I made this gadget as i was sick of the real harsh flash you get off the on camera flash
 
I made one a while back out of a plastic 1pt milk carton and a rubber band :)

It worked ok but I never really used it - I've just thrown it out after getting some strobist gear
 
Little diffusers like that make some difference if you're really close, as the flash becomes relatively bigger compared to the subject. At distance though, the effect is negligible.

It's making some difference inside your light walled garage as the light is bouncing around all over the place, softening and filling in the shadows by reflection. It also looks like the flash is running out of puff to do this in one or two pics, as it spreads light everywhere and uses a lot of power.

To see what effect the diffuser is having on its own, shoot something outside when it's dark where there is no light being bounced back from walls and ceilling etc, at normal shooting distance. Prepare to be disapointed though - the major difference will be that the flash will have no range at all and the light will be virtually identical both with and without the diffuser :(
 
I think that would be really handy for macro or portraits.
would be a good way to test.
you'll loose the autofocus assist too? but I presume you're not using it in really dim light anyway
 
Im not sure to be honest, what exactly is the autofocus assits?
 
Is that actually diffusing the light though? It looks so thick that I doubt any light can get through it, instead it just bounces back and around the room.
 
i thought this at first but light is getting through

ill try and take a shot with another camera of mine with the diffuser on in mid flash to show you
 
I tend to use kitchen grease proof paper held on with a blob of bluetak. Or if I was doing a large sequence of shots I'd make a card drop on frame and some off-cuts of 'fly screen' material (usually available from camping shops for tent repairs) I used to make my large lighting scrims.

Paul
 
Rizlas were the old school 'on-the-fly' solution :)

The top off a shampoo bottle or something similar (so long as it's opaque) is fine, although what DizMatt suggests might be a better long-term solution.
 
Masking tape FTW. Loop it in front of the on-board flash lens with about a finger's width of slack.

Diffuses (and weakens) the flash whilst extending the directional range of the IR signal for Nikon CLS; also cuts down the number of blinks you record using CLS (many people blink at the trigger signal which fires momentarily before the main flash exposure burst)
 
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